Mr. Pipes and the British Hymn Makers, by Douglas Bond

“This first novel in the series by Douglas Bond tells the story of two young Americans who are befriended by an elderly gentleman (Mr. Pipes) while on vacation in England. As he teaches them about famous British hymn writers and their hymns, they learn the value of traditional worship and praise—and they begin to see their own need for salvation.” ~from shopChristianliberty.com

Title: Mr. Pipes and the British Hymn Makers

Author: Douglas Bond

Genre(s): Christian Children/YA Fiction

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (five stars)

Romance Content: non-existent

Recommended age range: 8+?

My Review:

I am glad that I bought this book! It included many stories of British hymn writers and much discussion of what the hymns mean to us today. I enjoyed the storyline of the book as well as the hymn stories that were interspersed– some of the hymns I knew and some of them I didn’t.

Just a note: many of the hymn writers were part of the Anglican denomination, as was Mr. Pipes (the man who tells the stories to the children); Mr. Pipes makes a comment that someone was on the Calvinist side of a controversy, and therefore was correct; a mention is made that the children have a stepfather and never knew their real father (but it doesn’t say more than that); many comments are made regarding the sovereignty of God, which I do believe in, but that could lead to faulty theology; the children have bad attitudes about being in an old town in England for the summer in the beginning, although their attitudes do change by the end of the book; there is a picture of a bunch of naked slaves (from the story of John Newton); there are at least two Bible versions used; and although the children eventually decide to follow Christ and there is a strong salvation message portrayed, there doesn’t seem to be a specific time when they accept Christ, per se. Basically, I don’t agree with some of the theology in this book, so that might need to be explained to children.

This would be a good book for children who are interested in hymns (or don’t know why they should be interested in hymns!), poetry, music, etc, or for other people who are interested in the history behind the hymns. I enjoyed reading more about hymns and learning of more. There is a fun storyline, and I greatly appreciate being able to read this book!